The Long-finned Pilot Whale is treated as one species even though there is evidence that it may be a complex of two or more species. If they are so designated, the Red List assessment may change.

Three subspecies are recognized in some classifications: G. m. melas in the North Atlantic, G. m. edwardii in the southern hemisphere, and an un-named subspecies in Japanese waters (extinct since 8th-12th century AD; Rice 1998)

Justification:
Long-finned pilot whales are treated as one species even though there is evidence that they may comprise a complex of two or more species. If it is so designated, the classification may change. If taxonomic designations change, then it is suspected that some new species may warrant listing under higher categories of risk. Because additional data should resolve this taxonomic uncertainty, the current species is listed as Data Deficient. Threats that could cause widespread declines include high levels of anthropogenic sound, especially military sonar and seismic surveys, and bycatch. Primary threats that could cause widespread declines include entanglement in fisheries and competition with squid fisheries The combination of possible declines driven by these factors is believed sufficient that a 30% global reduction over three generations (72 years; Taylor et al. 2007) cannot be ruled out (criterion A).

Long-finned pilot whales occur in temperate and subpolar zones (Olson and Reilly 2002). They are found in oceanic waters and some coastal waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea and North Sea. In the North Atlantic, the species occurs in deep offshore waters, including those inside the western Mediterranean Sea (where it is thought to be the only species of pilot whale found), North Sea, and Gulf of St. Lawrence (Abend and Smith 1999). Long-finned pilot whales were previously found in the western North Pacific as well but appear to be absent there today. The circum-Antarctic subpopulation(s) in the Southern Hemisphere occur as far south as the Antarctic Convergence, sometimes to 68°S. They are apparently isolated from those of the Northern Hemisphere (Bernard and Reilly 1999).

The map shows where the species may occur based on oceanography. The species has not been recorded for all the states within the hypothetical range as shown on the map. States for which confirmed records of the species exist are included in the list of native range states. States within the hypothetical range but for which no confirmed records exist are included in the Presence Uncertain list.

Sighting surveys in 1987 and 1989 generated an abundance estimate of more than 750,000 pilot whales in the central and northeastern North Atlantic (Buckland et al. 1993). There are estimated to be about 200,000 long-finned pilot whales in summer south of the Antarctic Convergence in the Southern Hemisphere and approximately 31,000 (CV = 0.27) in the western North Atlantic (Waring et al. 2006), but some of these are short-finned pilot whales. There is no information on global trends in abundance. There is little information on subpopulations within the species (Donovan et al. 1993).

Long-finned pilot whales tend to follow their prey (squid and mackerel) inshore and into continental shelf waters during the summer and autumn (Reeves et al. 2003). In the western North Atlantic, they occur in high densities over the continental slope in winter and spring months. In summer and autumn months, they move off the shelf.

The typical temperature range for the species is 0 - 25°C (Martin 1994). The Alboran Sea is one of the most important areas for this species in the Mediterranean (Cañadas and Sagarminaga 2000); in this area, the average depth of encounters was about 850 m (ranging from 300 to 1,800 m), reflecting the distribution of their preferred diet, pelagic cephalopods. Around the Faroe Islands, tracking studies show a preference for waters over the border of the continental shelf (Bloch et al. 2003).

Off the coast of Chile, Aguayo et al. (1998) mainly sighted G. melas near the edge of the continental shelf. Goodall and Macnie (1998) reported on sightings in the south-eastern South Pacific, which were clustered from 30-35°S, 72- 78°W, at a maximum of about 160 nm from shore. In the southwestern South Atlantic, sightings were clustered in two areas, 34- 46°S and off Tierra del Fuego, 52-56°S, where schools were found up to 1,000 n. mi. from shore. Fifteen sightings were from waters south of the Antarctic Convergence, from December to March. Only one sighting was made south of 44°S in winter, probably due to lack of effort in southern seas during the colder months.

Primarily squid eaters, long-finned pilot whales will also take small medium-sized fish, such as mackerel, when available (Gannon et al. 1997). Other fish species taken include cod, turbot, herring hake, and dogfish. They will sometimes also ingest shrim.

The only current fishery for long-finned pilot whales is undertaken in the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Although this fishery has been actively pursued since the 9th century, catch levels have apparently not caused stock depletion, such as occurred off Newfoundland. Catch statistics exist from the Faroes since 1584, unbroken from 1709 to today, showing an annual average catch of 850 pilot whales (range: 0 - 4,480) with a cyclic variation according to the North-Atlantic climatic variations (Bloch and Larstein 1995). The IWC, ICES and NAMMCO have concluded, that with an estimated subpopulation size of 778 000 (CV=0.295) in the eastern North Atlantic and approximately 100 000 around the Faroes (Buckland et al. 1993; NAMMCO 1997) the Faroese catch is probably sustainable. In Greenland, catches are relatively small.

Incidental catches are reported from Newfoundland, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of France. In British waters, long-finned pilot whales are accidentally caught in gillnets, purse seines and in trawl fisheries. Very few are reported taken incidentally in fisheries in the Southern Hemisphere (Reyes 1991). However, according to Bernard and Reilly (1999), there are probably more pilot whales taken incidentally than are presently documented. On the east coast of the USA, the foreign Atlantic mackerel fishery was responsible for the take of 141 pilot whales in 1988. This fishery was suspended in early May of that year as a direct result of this anomalously high take. A 1990 workshop to review mortality of cetaceans in passive nets and traps documented an annual kill of 50-100 G. melas off the Atlantic coast of France. Long-finned pilot whales are also known to be taken incidentally in trawl and gillnet fisheries in the western North Atlantic, and in swordfish driftnets in the Mediterranean (Olson and Reilly 2002).

Zerbini and Kotas (1998) reported on cetacean-fishery interactions off southern Brazil. The pelagic driftnet fishery is focused on sharks (families Sphyrnidae and Carcharinidae) and incidentally caught at least 15 Globicephala melas in 1995 and 1997. The authors conclude that the driftnet fishery may be an important cause of cetacean mortality in that region.

Although there is considerable controversy regarding the absolute level of declines, there is good evidence of large-scale reductions in many predatory fish populations (e.g., Baum et al. 2003, 2005; Sibert et al. 2006; Polacheck 2006) and over-fishing and collapse of several important “prey” fish stocks world-wide (e.g., Jackson et al. 2001). The effects of such fish population reductions and subsequent ecosystem changes on world-wide populations of long-finned pilot whales are unknown but could result in population declines. Commercial fisheries for squids are widespread in the western North Atlantic. Target species for these fisheries are squids eaten by pilot whales, again raising the possibility of prey depletion.

This species, like beaked whales, is likely to be vulnerable to loud anthropogenic sounds, such as those generated by navy sonar and seismic exploration (Cox et al. 2006).

The North and Baltic Sea subpopulations have been listed in Appendix II of CMS. However, recent data on movements in the northwest and northeast Atlantic suggest that these subpopulations should also be included in Appendix II of CMS. Attention should also be paid to the western North Atlantic subpopulation(s), in particular those migrating between United States and Canadian waters, formerly depleted by over-hunting and now facing increasing incidental mortality in trawl fisheries (Reyes 1991).

In-Place Research, Monitoring and PlanningIn-Place Land/Water Protection and ManagementIn-Place Species Management Harvest management plan:YesIn-Place Education Included in international legislation:Yes Subject to any international management/trade controls:Yes